Why I’m looking forward to spending 8 hours on a plane…

So right now I’m in the departure lounge of Dublin airport, which makes me happy. This is because it’s reminding me of the AMAZING AND WONDERFUL time I had on tour here in 2013 (thank you ADRIAN CROWLEY and NATHALIE for making that happen!).

Also because all the Irish airport staff are so friendly, as if they really are genuinely glad you have come here. YEAY! You’re come to hang out in Dublin airport! That’s so great! Have a wonderful day! …is how they genuinely make me feel. That cheered me up from the terrible loss of my fancy, special kind of houmous you can only get in one posh deli in Edinburgh; which was taken away from me in Edinburgh at security. (It’s not a bomb, people, it’s ambrosial nectar with a silky mouthfeel…). Unlike the USA visa clearance man in Dublin, who let me scoff most of my fruit salad that I had literally just crossed half the airport to buy because no-one was waiting, I didn’t even get to swipe a finger through that pot before it was tossed. Sad times.

However back to Dublin being awesome and giving me fuzzy nostalgia. The other cool thing is that I am going to CHICAGO! Well, Crystal Lake, outskirts of, to do two weeks of intensive training on guitar, to upgrade my teaching skills and on the subject of music career development. And! That 8 hour flight. I have one of those fitness gadgets that tracks sleep. I manage an 8 hour kip once every three weeks or so (I know if you have children that will seem like a magical and wondeful thing in itself) and I never seem to have time to read books, listen to music, or scribble down more than the most fragmented song ideas.

I have never been to the states properly discounting the time I returned from Peru via Miami and Newark, but I didn’t leave the airports on those occasions. I am already nervous about how tipping works. Maybe I should google that right after posting this.

When I’m there, the other musicians I’ll meet are from all over the world, into all genres, all doing cool stuff, so I think it’ll be incredibly inpsiring and put a massive rocket under me for the fourth candythief album.

Meanwhile, next Candythief Recommends newsletter will be out soon with some Tasty Tidbits.